MCP connector comparison
MCP lets any AI call any tool. How well it searches is up to each server. Chat with Work's built-in tools search first and read only what matters. Your own MCP servers cover everything else.
Free: 30 answers a day, plus 300 trial credits for every other model. No card.
Compare
Built-in connectors provide a consistent workplace-search experience. User-managed MCP servers extend that experience when you need another system or a server with different capabilities.
| Dimension | User-managed MCP server | Built-in connector |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An open standard used by many clients and servers. | A provider integration maintained as part of Chat with Work. |
| Setup | Add a remote server URL in Settings and complete OAuth when the server supports it. | Authorize the provider in Settings and ask a question. |
| Search and read behavior | Entirely implementation-dependent. A server can return concise structured results or large unfiltered payloads. | Provider-specific search previews and targeted reads are built into the product. |
| Context efficiency | Can be excellent or poor depending on tool schemas, result design, and client orchestration. | Designed to triage candidates before reading and keep source material focused. |
| Source citations | Depends on the server output and client UI. | Reads return source links for citations where the provider exposes a stable source URL. |
| Operations | The server operator owns hosting and behavior; Chat with Work manages the per-user connection and OAuth tokens. | Maintained with the hosted application; self-hosting is also available. |
| Integration breadth | A broad and growing ecosystem. | 1,889 tools to connect, from files, mail and calendar, and chat to CRM, finance, legal, design and media, and travel and property. |
| Best fit | Teams that need composability, custom tools, or the same server across several AI clients. | Teams that want a consistent search and citation flow for supported work systems, with changes only after approval. |
In practice
Add the server's URL in Settings.
It starts at Read; every other call waits for your approval.
Check its results, how much it returns, and its links.
Whoever runs the server decides what it keeps.
Sign in to one of your work tools.
It searches that account when you ask.
Previews pick what to read; reads stay focused.
Answers link back to the files and messages.
Last reviewed September 22, 2026. Background reading: MCP tools specification and the July 2026 specification release.
“The context window is not a junk drawer. It's a workbench. Everything on it should be there for a reason, and you should be able to say what that reason is.”
Carmine Paolino Founder Your agent's context window is not a junk drawer
Connect a tool or your own MCP server, and ask.
Free: 30 answers a day, plus 300 trial credits for every other model. No card.
